Turpentine
by Gerudo Desert
Summary: They were a family of survivors. — Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein, in the aftermath. One-shot.


**notes 1:** spoilers for episode 26. Also, mentions of Spike/Faye.

 **notes 2:** I'm still so sad about these nerds and this is my attempt to make myself feel better. Writing about ragtag bands of screwed-up people who find a home in one another is one of my favorite things.

 **disclaimer:** I don't own Cowboy Bebop.

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Cloth in hand, Jet scrubbed at a blemish on the window and watched the stars. It was just a small smudge, really, but it stubbornly resisted his scrubbing. He liked to keep his ship clean. That had been difficult lately, though.

His eyes were fixed on a particular star, gleaming bright and furious against the blanket of black. Spike had been gone for too many hours now, and as much as Jet didn't want to believe it, he knew what that meant all too well.

Slowly, the glow of the star began to dim, growing duller and duller until it was gone, leaving a gap of cold dark space behind. Jet pressed a hand to the glass, and swallowed down the dry taste in his throat.

The only thing left in the fridge was bell peppers, and no beef. Jet sighed and tossed them in the frying pan anyway; it seemed fitting. He heard footsteps behind him as Faye gathered up the plates and the chopsticks without a word. He sat on the ugly yellow chair; she leaned against the table. The long couch and the space on the floor next to it were empty. They ate in silence.

"His star is gone," Jet said finally, after they were done. He pulled out a cigarette and rummaged around in his pockets.

"I know," Faye said wearily, handing him her lighter.

"How?" Jet asked.

"I felt it," she answered as she stood up to find some booze.

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"He was such an _idiot_ ," Faye babbled, an hour and several beers later. "He went in there with no backup or plan or…he was an _idiot!_ "

Jet grunted in agreement, blinking to clear his blurred vision. He'd set the Bebopon a course to nowhere in particular—just far away from Mars. Faye grabbed for her bottle and drained the rest of it in one long swig, then sank down next to Jet on his chair.

"I _loved_ him," she slurred, running a hand through her choppy violet hair. "He had to know that, right, Jet? I didn't believe it, but it was true. And I never told him. Do you think he knew?"

"He knew, Faye," Jet mumbled. "He knew."

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In a few days, they started to pull themselves back together. They turned on the TV to watch Big Shot, and found a target with a large enough bounty for the two of them to split.

It was an easy run. The head was on Ganymede, laughing with his friends at the sleazy bar that was the front for his drug cartel. Faye slid into the seat next to him, and with a single bat of her eyelashes he was at ease. She accepted the drink he bought her, but never took a sip—she always kept her head clear on the job.

The target's jaw dropped when the barrel of Jet's gun pressed against the back of his head, his face so shocked that Faye almost laughed. She ducked as one of his cronies' fists came swinging towards her, and slung him a punch of her own right in the nose. It felt like victory when the bone crunched under her knuckles. She and Jet dragged him back for the bounty together, and they ate well for the first time in days.

"Wonder where Ed and Ein are," Jet commented in his gruff way that night.

"Me too," Faye replied. That was the last they spoke of it.

And that was how the two of them continued. They hunted heads and found them, they got in and out of trouble, and they survived. Sometimes, Faye would catch the melancholy frown on Jet's face as he clipped away at his bonsai, or the way his breath hitched after he called her for dinner. She never mentioned it to him.

Sometimes, she found herself wandering down to the belly of the ship, to the loading dock where the Swordfish had once rested. But then she would always turn away, and keep walking.

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In the end, it was Edward who found them, not the other way around. They were on Earth, searching for some hitman holed up among the ruins of some town. The heat pressed down on Faye's shoulders, making sweat drip down her neck and into the collar of her shirt. The ragged townsfolk watched her and Jet distrustfully, tracking their every movement with haggard eyes.

The familiar bark made them both whirl around. Faye caught one brief glimpse of the dog before something orange slammed into her, screeching, "Faye-Faye! Jet-person!"

There was wild, tangled orange hair in Faye's face, and skinny arms locked around her. Ein was barking up a storm, and she could hear Jet murmuring to him. Faye shut her eyes and breathed in deep, finding that, her throat felt strangely tight. She wasn't one for hugs, but she threaded her fingers through Edward's hair anyway.

It was several long seconds before either of them let go. "How have you been, kid?" Faye asked.

"Edward is doing just fine, Faye-Faye!" she said, swaying back and forth as Ein barked in agreement. She looked a little older and a little thinner, yet still much the same.

"Where's your father?" Jet wondered.

Ed scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "Father-person left," she said, pointing a finger in some vague direction to her left. "Ed and Ein didn't follow him."

Faye nodded in understanding and shared a look with Jet. Wordlessly, she put a hand on Edward's shoulder and steered her towards the Bebop. Ein followed, trotting along at their heels as fast as his short legs could carry him.

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"Edward is in! I found the place, the race, the mace!"

"Where?" Faye-Faye asked.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, golden eyes alight with glee behind her goggles. The gang's database was no match for her. "Europa! In the city…it's so pretty!"

"I doubt that," Jet-person grumbled from the kitchen. "But we'll go there tomorrow. This is a big bounty, so we'd better not screw it up."

Ein gave Edward a lick on the cheek, making her giggle as she pulled her goggles from her face. Picking up Tomato, she scampered up the steps to put the computer back with Ein following close behind. Before she went back down the hall, she stopped at the door across from hers.

The door was always shut; Faye-Faye and Jet-person didn't like to go in there. Ed didn't know why. She opened the door and stepped inside, turning on the flickering light. The room was small, and furnished only with a bed and a desk. His weapons and ammo were scattered on the desktop, and his coat hung on the back of the chair.

Edward pulled the pinwheel from her pocket and smoothed back the crumpled edges. She'd found it taped on the Bebop's exterior, at the very point, like a beacon guiding her home. Now, she placed it on the desk.

"Goodbye, Spike-person," Ed said. Ein brushed against her leg, pressing his cold nose against her skin.

"Food's ready!" Jet-person called. Ein gave a small yip as if in reply.

"What's for dinner?" Faye-Faye wondered.

"Bell peppers and beef," came the reply.

Edward grinned, and followed Ein out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

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End file.
